


Entwined Fates

by Roguex1979



Category: Loki - Fandom, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alien Culture, Anal Sex, Angst, Betrayal, Loki Redemption, Loki is reluctant, M/M, Rough Sex, loki and an original male character, loki goes to therapy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-13
Updated: 2014-08-02
Packaged: 2018-02-08 16:59:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1949106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roguex1979/pseuds/Roguex1979
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki redemption fic. Loki is sent to Earth and given to the mercy of SHIELD in a 'trial by fire' devised by Odin. He is put through therapy where he meets a charming young male psychologist named Daniel and is forced to deal with his issues. Loki soon becomes intrigued with the doctor, realising there is more to him than meets the eye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Dark World/Malekith's Defeat

**Author's Note:**

> This story is initially set during Thor: TDW when Loki is helping Thor on Svartalfheim.
> 
> If you haven't seen Thor: TDW, please note that there are constant spoilers throughout this chapter and there will be spoilers in additional chapters for both Thor Movies and The Avengers. If you haven't seen them, why not?! Go! Watch them!
> 
> Please note that flashbacks, thoughts and disembodied voices (those that are not in the room or cannot be seen) are in italics. The voice of The Other is in bold.

**Chapter One**

Loki dispatched the last of Malekith's foot soldiers with a slice through the neck and the pale warrior fell to the ground. When he was sure none more were left to attack him, he looked to the distance, where Thor was in combat with Kurse, and not faring very well. Hefting one of the elves' weapons, he made his way quickly across the dark desert to help his outmatched brother.

Kurse pounded mercilessly, each strike creating a crater beneath Thor's prone body, the Asgardian unable to escape as each blow came swiftly after the other. Just as Kurse lifted his enormous arms to strike again, Loki plunged the spear he'd borrowed through the monster's back to jut out the other side. Loki smiled to himself, but his glee was short lived when instead of falling or even stumbling, Kurse turned to look at him, a growl coming from him low and menacing. Before Loki could do anything, Kurse grabbed him and pulled him to his body, impaling him as well, his breath leaving him in a gasp, eyes wide with surprise.

Time slowed considerably for Loki. The rush of his blood in his ears deafened him, although Thor's cry of anguish could be heard from the ground. Loki knew it was a fatal blow, the Dark Elves' weapons more than enough to slay the likes of any Aesir. His life force would drain well before any natural healing could happen; his enhanced healing spells also too slow. In his mind, he silently cursed himself for his actions. Although the ruse against Malekith had been pre planned, in a small way, Loki had wished he really had cut off Thor's hand and that he had joined Malekith for perhaps even a small taste of the power the Dark Elf now wielded.

But Loki had decided to do the right thing after all, and right now, he had to do something else to stop this giant from finishing Thor, the blade obviously not fazing him. Without Kurse noticing, he reached out and activated one of the vortex grenades.

Time returned to normal as Kurse hurled him to the ground. Lying on his back, Kurse advancing slowly, Loki panted through the pain, clutching his wound. "See you in Hel, monster!" he ground out. Kurse looked suitably scared as realisation dawned and he tried to desperately pull the grenade from his side, but it was too late. The weapon exploded and in such close proximity to his body, Kurse was curled into himself, screaming, bones crunching, skin shredding and organs pulled into the small hole, which then closed in to consume itself.

Relief flooded through Loki followed immediately by excruciating pain. He grunted and squirmed, knowing his time was coming to an end. Thor rushed over to him and lifted him up muttering, "No, no, no. You fool, you didn't listen!"

"I know. I am a fool. I'm a fool!" The pain was almost too much to bear, the look in his brother's eyes just as unbearable. Loki didn't deserve that look.

"Stay with me, okay?" Thor said softly, brushing some dirt from his cheek.

"I'm sorry," Loki said, and he meant it. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"Shh…" Thor cooed.

A small laugh left Loki's lips followed by a groan of pain. "This wasn't supposed to happen, you know?" he stuttered. "Help you, save the girl, stop Malekith, and then return home with my head held high…" He coughed.

"Shh," Thor said again. "It's alright. I'll tell Father what you did here today."

Loki tried to scoff, but his efforts to stay awake were dwindling. With his last breath, he tried to make his dissatisfaction known, but all that came out was, "I didn't do it for him." He closed his eyes and let sweet oblivion surround him, the last thing he heard was Thor crying out once again as his life slowly ebbed away.

* * *

_When Frigga surreptitiously visited him in his prison cell, she would show him new tricks with magic. In the glowing, magic dampening cage, Loki had little use of this, but secretly relished the time with her._

_"You should embrace your heritage, Loki," she had said to him one day while his eyes rolled in his head and he turned away from her. "Whilst I am not of that nature, I have looked at certain magicks that can be used in conjunction with the abilities the Jotun have."_

_"I am not of that nature either," he spat._

_"Loki, you have great powers…"_

_"I deny them!" Loki shouted, his anger amplifying what little of his magic he had and Frigga's hologram spell flickered from the force of it. Loki quickly reigned in his temper, worried that his mother would leave him just then. "I deny them," he repeated quieter, his eyes downcast._

_"You should not," Frigga said moving towards him. She tried to put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but she passed right through him. "There are great many things you can do with the gifts you have. Please," she said with some urgency, "let me show you…"_

* * *

Loki could see a bright light. It blinded him and he put a hand to his eyes to shield them. As his sight adjusted, he was confused. This was neither Hel nor Valhalla, at least not from the grand stories he'd been told as a child. Or maybe, as he was a Frost Giant, this was their version of Hel.

Squinting off in any direction simply yielded more pure brilliant white, but turning once in a full circle, he thought he could see a figure in front of him in the distance. "Who's there?" he called out, his voice echoing across whatever void he was in. "What is this place?"

" _My son_ ," he heard a female voice say.

Loki's arm dropped to his side. He could feel a tear form in his eye as his heart was set to soar. He walked towards the figure, stepping faster and faster until he was running. It seemed he ran forever, but the figure was just as far from him. "Mother!" he called out reaching for her. A chance to see her, hold her again, tell her how sorry he was! He needed her!

" _It is not your time, Loki_ ," her voice said all around him. " _But there is something you can do to help yourself to return to the living_."

Loki stopped running, his blood running cold at the implication. "What? No!" he shouted, "I will not!"

" _You must_ ," Frigga's voice said softly, but desperately. " _You are needed_."

Loki felt the tear fall down his cheek. "No one needs me! And I've made my peace," he said defiantly. "I have been redeemed!"

" _Yes_ ," Frigga said, the sound coming from behind him. He whirled round but the white brilliance prevented him seeing her, her figure still off in the distance. " _And that is why you must go back. You have a chance now_."

"No!" Loki raged. He knew what his mother was asking him to do.

"You must!" Frigga's voice was right beside him.

When he turned he saw her clear as day. She smiled at him, and his resolve nearly crumbled. Despite his hatred towards her when he found out she was not his birth mother, she was always a light in the dark for him. He reached a hand out to place it gently on her cheek, but it didn't feel real. "I want to be with you."

"Not yet," she smiled sweetly putting her own disembodied hand onto his. "The road ahead will be long and hard for you, but you have to travel it. You have a very important purpose, and you are the only one who can do it. Your actions on Svartalfheim were only the first of many steps. You have to do what you need to do to get back. It is the only way." Loki blinked more tears away and Frigga was gone, her voice still echoing. " _The only way!"_

Loki clenched his fists and screamed in frustration until his voice was hoarse, dropping to his knees and then hunched over onto his hands.

It was then he saw drops of blood. Dark burgundy, almost blue, stark against the white of the void. He put a hand to his abdomen and it came away the same colour on his palm.

_You know what to do…_

Reluctantly, Loki stood, tightened his jaw and closed his eyes.  _I'll do it for you…Mother._

* * *

Loki's eyes opened wide and he gasped for air, coughing as he tried to stop his body from dying. He had to work quickly. Patching into his magic  _and_ Jotun abilities, much to his consternation, he manipulated his healing with the extreme cold of the ice in his blood, his skin turning Jotun blue. He poured it into his wounds and felt the freeze stop the damage from deteriorating allowing semi-normal blood flow to continue unheeded through his body, damaged vital organs healing first with the help of his other magic. It hurt like nothing he had experienced before and he vocalised it with punctuated grunts through gritted teeth.

When he was certain he was no longer in too much danger of death, he withdrew the Jotun in him and colour began to return to his skin. He groaned and tried to roll over, faintly aware of hands on him, voices of concern. Only when he was pulled into a rough hug did he realise that Thor was still there, as well as Jane Foster. He must not have been out for very long, not long enough for them to leave him.

"I'm fine," he said weakly trying to wriggle out of Thor's crushing embrace. "I'm fine."

"Fine?" he heard Jane say incredulously, but with undeniable concern mixed with relief. "You…almost died!"

"A minor inconvenience," Loki hissed as his wound tingled, healing rapidly. He tried to stand up, Thor quickly coming to his aid. He stumbled when he found his magic had weakened him significantly. He had to lean against his blonde brother to be able to maintain a semi standing position, avoiding the questioning look he was getting. He shook his head to brush them away, not wanting to have to explain his survival, and Thor didn't press anything. He looked up at the sky, which had darkened, even more than was normal on Svartalfheim, a rumble of thunder could be heard getting louder. "Is that you?" he asked Thor.

Thor shook his head. "No," he said gravely. "A storm is coming."

"We need to find shelter," Jane said, her voice edged with urgency. Thor nodded and they made their way slowly towards a nearby mountain range, walking as quickly as they could with Loki unable to move of his own accord. It was slow going and the winds tore at them whipping Thor's cloak behind them. He removed it and wrapped it around Loki in an attempt to help him heal. Loki would have shrugged it off, but he was too physically weak.

Just when they thought they might be blown away, Jane pointed out an opening in the rock face. They clambered in and collapsed on the ground.

"He's going to unleash it," Jane began as Loki was laid on a relatively flat rock, the red cloak still wrapped snugly around him. "Not just on Asgard or on a star. Malekith is going to destroy everything!"

Once Thor was happy Loki was comfortable, he crouched down near Jane. "How?" When Jane hesitated, he put a hand on her shoulder. "Jane, how?"

She looked at him, and Loki noted the fear in her eyes. "I saw him on Earth. Why would he go to Earth?"

"The Convergence," Loki said weakly.

"Oh, God," Jane said, lowering her eyes to the ground. "None of this would have happened if I hadn't found the Aether."

"Then Malekith would only have possessed it that much sooner," Thor reasoned.

Jane sighed, a wry smile on her face. "I only found it because I was looking for you."

Thor put a hand to her cheek. "Jane…" he whispered.

"Now we're trapped and Loki nearly died…"

Loki saw the two of them look at him. He turned his head away from them, their pitying eyes unnerving him. "We are not trapped," he said. "I will heal in less than a day and then we can make our way back to the glider. The secret pathway will…"

It was just then that music began playing. Loki looked over at Jane, who was looking at Thor with confusion. Thor shrugged. "It's not me."

Jane dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She answered it with trepidation, putting it on speaker phone. "Hello?"

" _Hi, Jane, it's Richard_."

"Richard?" Jane asked, her face a picture of puzzlement. "Where are you?"

" _I'm still in the office. It's…it's been a crazy day here today_."

Jane's eyes widened. "Oh my God, this is amazing!" She held the phone up into the air and began wandering around the cave, searching.

" _Is it?"_  Richard replied. " _I quite enjoyed our lunch despite never actually ordering anything_."

"How am I getting service in here?" Jane asked bewildered. Loki idly wondered if she was expecting an answer from her Asgardian companions. He would certainly not have been able to offer an explanation.

" _Is it a bad time_?" Richard asked.

"No! No, no, no! Please whatever you do, do  _not_  hang up the phone," Jane said still searching deeper into the cave.

" _Okay then. I was just wondering if you want to try again. Uh...maybe dinner next time?_ " Loki couldn't help notice the frown cross Thor's face.

"Uh...yeah, yeah, yeah. Um...just stay on the phone, okay?"

" _Yeah, I will…"_

It was then Jane noticed something on the ground. "Oh, my God!" Jane reached down to pick up some keys. She then turned and showed Thor and motioned for him to get Loki. Loki attempted to stand by himself, but nearly tripped over the cloak. Thor helped him and he huffed at his own incompetence.

" _Am I interrupting something?_ " Richard asked.

"No, no, no, nothing at all," Jane said and flicked her wrist to encourage Thor and Loki to follow her.

" _I'm losing you there, are you in a tunnel?_ " Richard asked.

Thor concentrated on helping Loki over debris and rocks and...Loki looked at the ground. "Why are there so many shoes in here?" he asked amused.

A few more yards and they stepped suddenly through on to Earth, outside a factory. The look on Jane's relieved face was a picture and she closed the phone, cutting the man on the other end off. Loki didn't recognise the area as being New Mexico or New York. Rather than ask right now, he let Thor and Jane lead him to a car. Jane opened the back door and he slid in and lay on the back seat with a groan. It was slightly more comfortable than the rocks of Svartalfheim.

As Jane started the car and Loki began drifting off to sleep, he heard Thor ask her who Richard was and Jane answering him with slight contempt.

* * *

_Loki saw nothing in the darkness, but felt a presence. It was sinister and malevolent with cruel intentions, but Loki could do nothing against it. And he didn't fight as it took a hold of him in his weakened state._

_" **Poor little Asgardian Prince. No chance of being a king, cast out from his own realm. Look at you; broken; your mind a weak and muddled mess. Don't worry, little Prince.**_ **He _will give you a new purpose. An army. A war with which to catapult you to your new throne. But there is something you will need. Something powerful. On Earth._ He _will give you the means to obtain it._** _"_

* * *

Loki awoke from his memory being gently roused by Thor shaking him. Groggily, he sat up, shrugging the cloak off at the same time. He saw they were at a small apartment block and Jane was already opening the main door. Thor pulled him from the car and he staggered after her, thankful that he was now able to move by himself. The stairs proved to be slightly more difficult and had no choice but to let Thor help him again. When they reached Jane's front door and it opened, Thor pushed him behind his large frame. Loki was just about to ask why, when he heard voices on the other side.

"Jane!" a very enthusiastic woman's voice shouted.

"Hey," Jane answered. Thor took a step into the apartment and hung Mjolnir on the coat hook. Loki shuffled after him and mused that the wooden hook was strong enough.

"You can't just leave like that; the whole world is going crazy! All the stuff we saw is spreading…uh…did you go to a party?" Loki peeked around Thor's shoulder and saw Darcy Lewis, Jane's friend from New Mexico.

Jane ignored her and noticed another person in the room. "Erik?!" she queried and Loki then realised why Thor was shielding him from the others. Erik Selvig, the man whose mind he had occupied for a long time, guiding him towards the Tesseract, and then controlling his mind using the Chitauri sceptre.

"Jane! How wonderful!" Erik stood up to give her a hug. "You've been to Asgard," he said matter-of-factly, referring to her clothing.

"Where are your pants?" Jane asked the older man.

"Oh, uh…he…uh…he says it helps him think," a younger man said. Loki had never seen him before.

"Okay, well I'm going to need everything you got on this. All the work you've been doing on gravimetric anomalies, everything!"

"Okay," Erik said.

"Are you well, Erik?" Thor asked.

Erik finally realised Thor was there. He smiled broadly. "Yes, yes!" The smile faded. "Your brother is not coming, is he?"

Jane put a hand on Erik's shoulder quickly. "Erik, why don't you go put on some pants?" her voice squeaked awkwardly. Thor shifted uncomfortably.

Erik wasn't fooled. "He's here, isn't he?"

Thor nodded and moved out of the way to reveal Loki. Darcy gasped and Ian spluttered. "Isn't that the guy who…?"

"Yes, I am," Loki said, deciding to speak for himself. He put a hand on Thor's shoulder and moved forward wincing in pain, holding his abdomen. "Before everyone begins to fly off the handle, as you would put it, may I please take this opportunity to sincerely apologise for my actions?" He looked at Darcy. "I apologise for putting you in harm's way with the Destroyer." He looked at Erik. "And I apologise for the horrific invasion of your mind. I applaud the guile you had to put in that fail safe and keep it from me. You truly are a remarkable man with a strong mind." He turned to the young man. "I don't know you, but I apologise if I in any way wronged you." He felt dizzy. He turned to Jane, ignoring the looks of astonishment. "If I may be so bold as request a place to rest?"

Jane nodded and showed Loki where the couch was. As he settled, he was aware that despite his little speech, the three Midgardians were watching him warily. Thor and Jane were filling them in on the rest of the story in an attempt to appease them. He swung his legs up onto the couch, realising too late it was too small for him, so his feet kicked a table lamp onto the floor. Everyone winced as it smashed into multiple pieces. Loki opened his mouth, about to apologise again, but Jane held her hand up and shook her head indicating it wasn't his fault.

Loki noticed a look of guilt flicker across her face. He narrowed his eyes in confusion at her, and seemingly, she knew what his silent question was. She shook her head and smiled softly at him. Gratefully, he leaned back and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the burning sensation in his belly and back. He did, however, listen to the conversation that everyone was having, but only mildly.

Jane and Erik sounded like they knew what was going on. Thor threw in his oar reminding them of the short window of opportunity Malekith had to get it all done. Their concern was where it would all happen.

There was some shuffling. Loki opened one eye to see Erik pushing things off a table onto the floor. And they all looked like  _he'd_  committed some horrible crime when he accidentally knocked over the lamp; Erik was doing it on purpose! Erik opened a map of England. "We follow the directions," he explained and proceeded to trace lines explaining how ancient Midgardian's had known of this event and conveniently left markers. "Stonehenge. Snowdon, the Great Orme. These are all coordinates taking us...here."

"Greenwich?" the young man, Ian, asked.

"The walls between worlds will be almost non-existent," Jane stated with disbelief. "Physics is going to go ballistic. Increase and decrease in gravity, spatial extrusions. The very fabric of reality is going be torn apart!"

The wooden hook Mjolnir had been hanging on shattered as Thor summoned it to his hands, preparing for battle. "Then we must go there and prevent Malekith from meeting his deadline." Loki began to sit up. "What do you think you are doing, brother?" Thor asked, his voice grave.

The tension in the room grew. The urgency of the situation was very apparent, but the four humans could sense something more immediate needed to be ironed out between him and Thor.

"I'd better get my pants," Erik said and shuffled off to find them.

"I'm going to get changed too," Jane said and went to her room, closing the door behind her.

"We're going to make some coffee," Darcy said and dragged Ian along with her into the kitchen area.

With them gone, Loki looked at Thor. "To help, of course," he answered.

Thor sat on the couch where Loki's legs had just vacated. "You almost died," he said with serious tones. "You can barely walk on your own. It would not be a good idea for you to be involved in the battle. You are not strong enough yet and I would not lose you again."

Loki snorted. "In a few hours I will be nearly good as new and able to…"

"We don't have a few hours," Erik said coming back, fully clothed. "The Convergence is happening now." Loki shot an exasperated look at the old man. He took that as his cue to help with the making of the coffee.

"You will be more a hindrance than a help, Loki," Thor said softly. "You need to rest."

"Do not treat me like a child, brother," Loki said venomously, ignoring the ache in his stomach, but putting his hand against the injury unconsciously.

"I am not treating you like a child; I am treating you like someone who nearly died!" Thor thundered suddenly standing up. Loki was surprised by the outburst and leaned back a little involuntarily because Thor had raised Mjolnir. It was at that point Jane returned in normal Midgardian garb. She put a hand on Thor's arm and he lowered it slowly. "My apologies, Loki," he said regretfully, "but I will not allow you to take any more part in this. You have already acted courageously, following me to disobey Father's orders, enduring our fellows' quips about your trustworthiness, saving not only Jane's life but mine as well, nearly dying in the process…"

Loki thought his blonde-haired oaf of a brother might shed a tear. He nearly leaned back when one of Thor's hands gripped the side of his head and neck in the familiar brotherly fashion he had come to hate, but found it oddly comforting this time.

"I lost you to the void and thought you dead. On the Dark World I thought I lost you a second time. I will not think to lose you yet again for a third. Would that I could, I would place Mjolnir upon you to keep you from following me, but I will have need of it. Listen to me this time, brother, and stay away." Thor looked at his companions. "Let's go."

"And what am I to do?" Loki asked as Darcy, Ian and Erik bustled out the door after grabbing some paperwork and equipment. He struggled to stand up and took a few shaky steps towards Thor's retreating back.

Thor paused before exiting the apartment. "Rest. Heal. If we fail, when you are fully able, return to Asgard, if you can."

"If you fail, there will be little point in my returning to Asgard." He reached Thor and put a hand on his shoulder, holding all his anger and resentment in check. He knew Thor was only trying to look out for him. It grated on him, but he knew he was right. "Do not fail…and come back to me, brother." It was a heart-felt as he could muster. He realised he didn't want Thor to die (anymore), he just wanted things to go back to the way they were before. He wasn't sure how in the last day since the blonde had come to his prison cell he'd reached that conclusion. Maybe it was because he felt both physically and emotionally weak at this moment. He would address it at another point at some stage, he was sure, and maybe it wasn't even real, but it was oddly relieving for the moment.

Thor twisted and smiled ruefully at him, but didn't say another word, leaving to follow the others.

Jane held back. "Uh, I'm not sure how much you know about how things work here, but there's a remote on the coffee table there for the television. If you're hungry, it's no Asgardian feast but there might be some leftovers in the fridge. Or you can use my bed to sleep, if you need to." She pointed to a room off to the left.

Loki grinned at the small woman. "Thank you, Jane Foster," he said.

Jane smiled and went to leave. "Oh," she said turning back to him. "I never said thank you for saving me earlier." It was a far cry from only a few hours ago when she'd slapped him soundly across the face. "And…" She paused, looking away. "I'm sorry for nearly getting you killed." Loki had known Jane was harbouring guilt, but he had assumed she felt guilty about everything, not just his untimely near-death. If she hadn't been looking for Thor, she wouldn't have stumbled upon the Aether thereby resulting in Malekith's assault on Asgard. But, as Thor had rightly said, Malekith would have found the Aether with or without Jane's interference therefore it hardly mattered.

So Loki simply bowed his head in acquiesce, and then she left, closing the door behind her.

He only waited a few minutes to give the others time to have left before opening the door to the apartment to follow, only to find Thor standing there, arms folded with a frown. Loki laughed with surprise at having been so easily found out. "I was just checking you had everything you needed," he lied very unconvincingly, even to himself. Thor growled and pushed Loki back into the dwelling hand on chest. "Oh come now, brother," he protested, but Thor sat him down gently. A warning look kept him locked in place. "Very well," he conceded with a sigh. "On my honour, I won't try to help." He placed his right hand over his heart.

Thor said nothing, but turned and left. Loki felt sure Thor would not hang around again. Time was running out, but Loki didn't try to leave again. Instead, he leaned back on the couch closing his eyes, and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

_Loki watched the guards bring in the prisoners. "Odin continues to bring me new friends," he said, his arms clasped behind his back. "How thoughtful."_

_"The books I sent…do they not interest you?" Frigga asked._

_Loki looked over at his mother, wondering why she kept going against Odin's order. Had he not told him he would never see her again? "Is that how I am to wile away eternity? Reading?" He stepped around the multitude of furniture his mother had sent down for him._

_"I've done everything in my power to make you comfortable, Loki," Frigga said._

_"Have you?" Loki asked sarcastically leaning on the back of the plush chair. "Does Odin share your concern? Does Thor? It must be so inconvenient them asking after me day and night."_

_"You know full well it was your actions that brought you here," Frigga chided._

_"My actions." He walked away from her, anger growing inside of him. "I was merely giving truth to the lie that I've been fed my entire life; that I was born to be a king."_

_"A king?" Frigga scorned. "A true king admits his faults! What of the lives you took on Earth?"_

_"A mere handful compared to the number that Odin has taken himself."_

_"Your father…"_

_"He's not my father!" Loki bellowed turning to look sharply at her._

_Frigga looked at him with sadness in her eyes. "Then am I not your mother?"_

_Loki pressed his lips together, contemplating his answer. His anger was clouding his thoughts. "You're not," he answered._

_To his surprise, Frigga smiled, a small chuckle emanating softly. "Always so perceptive of everyone but yourself."_

_Ashamed of his thoughtless words, Loki approached her and placed his hands in hers, but they travelled through the illusion, Frigga disappearing slowly._

_As she did, the scene changed around him, his heart dropping into his stomach as he recognised where he was. The rock in space. The endless craters. The darkness._

**_"The Chituari grow restless,"_ ** _the Other said **. "You question us? You question**_ **Him _?_ He _who gave you ancient knowledge and new purpose when you were cast out, defeated!? You will have your war, Asgardian. If you fail, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice we cannot find you! You think you know pain? We will make you long for something so sweet as pain!"_**

* * *

Loki had awoken with a start from his nightmare, briefly forgetting where he was, then remembering, and finding himself still alone, but no darkness surrounding him, he guessed the worst had either been averted or hadn't happened yet. He turned on the television and found a channel that was broadcasting the disturbance.

Shaky footage of Thor battling Malekith was being shown, and upon charging the Dark Elf, they both promptly vanished into a tear in the fabric of the universe sending them both who knows where, only for them to both reappear, still mid skirmish a few moments later.

Loki watched engrossed, stopping himself several times from getting up and rushing to aid them. It seemed like forever but then the footage switched to a news reader and it was then that Loki realised that what he was watching wasn't live as the man mentioned events that happened nearly an hour ago, commenting on how Thor had managed to vanquish Malekith, who had then disappeared, and was nearly crushed by the alien space ship which had also disappeared.

He jumped slightly when the door opened and Darcy and Ian barrelled in whooping with joy followed closely by Erik. Darcy danced into the kitchen, her joy apparent, and fetched some glasses. She then bounded over with them and a bottle of liquor, passing a glass to Ian and Erik. "We won!" Darcy shouted and poured the drinks. She went back into the kitchen to get more glasses, even giving one to a bewildered Loki. "It's over! Woohoo!"

"We did it!" Ian said with wonder in his voice, arm draped around Darcy's shoulders, and the two clinked theirs together in cheer. "We actually did it! We helped to save the world!"

"Yeah, baby!" Darcy said. She downed her beverage in one go.

Loki found their enthusiasm to be infectious and he smiled too. As he took a sip, Thor and Jane stepped through the door, and it was obvious that through the joy of the victory, they had been in a deep conversation about their potential future. Loki knew they would have to go back home to tell the All-Father what had happened. He didn't relish the idea, fully expecting to be imprisoned again, even alongside his wayward brother, but he was glad it was finally all over.

Jane smiled at Loki walking passed him and into the kitchen to join the small group, Thor following only as far as where Loki was sitting. "Are you well, brother?" he asked sitting heavily on the couch.

"Healing quickly," Loki said. He had checked himself over earlier and seen that he was well out of danger, the pain all but dulled, bruised purple where the spike had skewered him, but already fading. He himself had been amazed at how well his mother had known the freezing ability of the Jotun would be in conjunction with his own enhanced healing magic. It then occurred to him; the insistence she'd had in showing him how to use this magic in his cell all those months ago…had she foreseen the path he would be taking? He dismissed the idea. Frigga had been powerful with magic, but she couldn't have seen this. If she had, surely she would have done something to prevent it, and her own death? But she had told him during  _his_  dying moments that his actions were the first steps along another path, so perhaps it had needed to happen. He shook his head imperceptibly. "And you?"

"I am well." Thor didn't sound or look well, Loki thought and he realised his brother must be considering their next move.

"He will never bless a union between you two," Loki said slightly more harshly than he meant to. He saw Thor wince. "Why not just stay here?"

"I have to go back to explain all this to Father. Heimdall, Sif and the Warriors Three will be incarcerated and I will take full blame for it all to free them. I also wish that you be absolved."

Loki was already picturing himself back in handcuffs and Thor with him sharing a prison cell. But he knew that Thor was honourable and despite that potential, and never being able to see Jane again, Thor would not be moved from his decision.

Loki sighed, not that eager to go either. "When do we leave?"

* * *

The journey back to Asgard was not as hard as they had thought. Heimdall had immediately opened the Bifrost to collect them when Thor called to him, hope blooming in both of their minds that Odin had been watching and seen their courage. Now standing in front of the All-Father, neither in chains, finding everything surprisingly calm since their departure, they awaited to hear what he would say.

"You once said there would never be a wiser King than me," Odin said from his throne. "You were wrong. The alignment has brought all the realms together. Every one of them saw you offer your life to save them. What can Asgard offer its new King in return?"

Loki looked at Thor from downcast eyes, arms at his sides. Upon returning, they had immediately been brought to see their father, and Thor had not explained to him what he would say to him. He held his breath.

"My life," Thor began. "Father, I cannot be King of Asgard. I will protect Asgard and all the realms with my last and every breath, but I cannot do so from that chair. Loki, for all his grave imbalance, understands rule as I know I never will. The brutality, the sacrifice, it changes you. I'd rather be a good man than a great King."

Loki smiled internally, his eyes still on the floor. Thor was giving up the throne? Maybe this was his chance. Had he earned his right to take Odin's place in his stead? Surely helping the mortal woman, although against the All-Father's command would be seen as noble.

Odin shifted on the throne. "Is this my son I hear, or the woman he loves?"

"When you speak I never hear Mother's voice." Loki looked up at this statement. A backhanded insult to the All-Father was not going to help their case and Odin was suitable shaken by it, but showed no signs of anger. "This is not for Jane, Father," Thor said quickly. "She does not know what I came here to say. Now forbid me to see her or say she can rule at my side, it changes nothing."

Odin sighed. "One son who wants the throne too much, another who will not take it. Is this my legacy?"

Loki opened his mouth to say something, but Thor held a hand up to silence him. "Loki redeemed himself with his actions. And I will fight for the Realms with honour, as you taught me. You speak of your legacy, is that not enough?" Thor sidestepped and put a hand on Loki's shoulder. "He has much to learn, yes, but I believe he will make a great King with some guidance." He turned to him. "You have to put aside your feelings of anger towards our Father," Thor whispered. Loki said nothing, simply shook his head.

Odin cleared his throat. "If that is truly what you wish, Thor, my first born son, then know this: I cannot give you my blessing, nor can I wish you good fortune."

Thor nodded. "I know." He bowed his head and unhooked Mjolnir from his belt holding it up to his father.

Odin shook his head. "It belongs to you."

Thor didn't smile, simply nodded slightly again and turned to leave, knowing his part of this meeting was over. He looked meaningfully at Loki as he left the throne room.

Loki watched Thor leave the room and then turned to his adoptive father as Odin began speaking again. "You are not ready to ascend the throne, my son," Odin said gravely. "You did act bravely for your brother and the realms saw this too. None could quite believe it after the events that have unfolded recently. But you have much to learn." He stood up from the throne and walked down the steps towards Loki, who simply shifted his stance uneasily. "Your anger and resentment towards me, towards your situation weighs heavily upon you, and this does not make for a good leader. Your actions, your mistakes, were not well thought out, and perhaps in some ways, not even your own."

Loki flinched at this. How could Odin possibly have known or even had a thought that his charge on Midgard for the Tesseract to ultimately bring the Chitauri there could have been anything other than his own plan? And if this was the case, why did he punish him for it in the first place?

"When I cast out Thor to Midgard without his strength and Mjolnir to aid him, he changed, just as I had hoped. He found the thing that had eluded him, the thing that was staying my choice to put him on the throne. I believe that this may also work for you."

Loki thought for a second before realising the implications of what Odin was saying. "No," he said, fear and anger rising in his veins. "No, no, no! You cannot seriously think what worked for Thor will work for me in the same way?" He took an involuntary step away from Odin. "My magic is what makes me who I am! The last gift of knowledge Mother bestowed upon me saved my life! You cannot take it away from me!"

"If your magic is what makes you who you are," Odin said loudly, his anger rising, "then all the more reason to take it from you. You are too mischievous for your own good and it has all been with the aid of your magic! A king does not need such trickery and deception!"

" _This_  from the King who would steal a baby from its homeland and use it for his own devices, lying about it to that baby all his life!" Loki spat.

"You do not have the  _right_  to speak of my actions," Odin countered. "Those actions saved  _your_  life. I had my reasons at the time, reasons that no longer matter now, but I was acting in the best interest of the Realms' futures.  _Your_  actions thus far have been for naught but your  _own_  good!"

Loki gritted his teeth, stopping himself from yelling more. It would do him no good. "I think I would rather be taken back to my cell in chains."

"That is no longer an option for you, my son," Odin said, his demeanour softening. "You do have the potential to rule, I have always thought so, and I will give you a chance." He turned and walked back up to the throne. He sat down. "You will return to Midgard with Thor. You will first be stripped of your power. Only once I deem you worthy will your power return and you will be welcome back here to rule." He lifted Gungnir high and with finality brought it back to the ground with a resounding boom.

Loki staggered backwards as he could feel his Mother's gift leaving him. He tried desperately to hold onto it, but had nothing he could do to stop the All-Father's ultimate word from being carried out. When the last of it vanished, he felt empty and hollow. An experimental flick of his wrist and nothing happened. It was a simple spell to open a pocket dimension to retrieve one of his daggers, one of the first things his Mother had taught him (for defence), and it did not yield. He looked up with rage on his face. "That was all I had left of her!" he yelled.

"When you have learned that not everything can be achieved through trickery, deceit and force, and learn to forgive those around you, and yourself, and see the truth, it will return to you."

Loki let out a frustrated shout. "Thor sacrificed himself on Earth and his power returned to him. I have already done that!"

"Thor did it because he had a new found respect for how the worlds work. You did not  _intend_  to be sacrificed." Odin lifted a hand, a quick gesture and two einherjar flanked Loki.

Loki growled and spun on his heel quickly leaving the two guards to chase after him.

TBC


	2. Loki: the Midgardian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki finds himself on Earth, no powers, and heading into the care of SHIELD. He dons Midgardian clothes and is beaten up by Hawkeye. What else could go wrong??

**Chapter Two**

It had been evident that Thor had heard everything that was said after he left the throne room because after Loki had stalked out, the two went to see Heimdall and they were sent back to Earth without a word said between them, no questions asked.

Jane had been very surprised and happy to see Thor, but she was even more surprised to see Loki with him. After a brief explanation of the circumstances, the group of them were sitting in Jane's small apartment contemplating their next steps.

"Do you think we'll have to tell SHIELD about this?" Darcy asked after there had been too long a silence for her to bear.

"Thor will have to check in," Erik said. "He's part of the Avengers Initiative now and they will need to know how to contact him. I think it would probably be best if they knew Loki is here too."

"But won't they lock him up?" Ian asked. "I mean, he did cause a lot of damage in New York and even if Asgard has forgiven him, I doubt SHIELD will."

"I could speak to Director Fury," Thor said. "Explain the situation to them…"

"The minute you mentioned he's here, they'd come and take him away."

"But he's harmless now," Thor smiled. Loki snorted, still sulking, having yet said anything since the throne room. Thor laughed humourlessly. "Sorry, brother, but it  _is_  true."

"The thing is, where is he going to stay while his 'trial period' is being carried out?" Erik asked. "Surely he can't be left on his own!"

" _He_  has a name," Loki finally said gruffly, arms crossed. He was pouting, he knew this. He couldn't care less what these mortals decided to do.

" _Loki_  could stay here," Jane said. "There's a spare bedroom. Well, I say bedroom, it's big enough to hold a bed…just. But it's currently filled with my equipment and paperwork, which can be moved to the lab. You know, just for a little while. In the mean time, Thor can test the waters with Director Fury, drop some subtle hints about Loki…"

Loki laughed out loud. "Ha! Thor? Subtle? He will be about as subtle as a bilgsnipe female in heat."

"Loki…" Thor warned.

"Forgive me, brother, but is this not all pointless?" Loki argued, standing up. "Whether I stay in this ridiculously small dwelling, or roam the streets, or am taken into custody by the so-called SHIELD, I will still be  _here_!"

"Father is only trying to help you, Loki," Thor said with a frown. "He is hoping you will learn a thing or two about being a true King of Asgard."

"His reasoning is flawed! What is there for me to learn from these dull-witted creatures?"

"Hey!" Darcy interjected. "How about learning to be nice for a change?"

Loki shot her a look that said  _'if only I had my magic, you would be ash right now'_. "I will not stand here and listen to you all prattle on like I am not even here. In fact, I am going to go for a walk to get some fresh air, if you could call it fresh here. The air itself smells rotten!" He stormed over to the door and yanked the handle.

"Wait!" came a chorus of multiple voices.

"What?" Loki sniped.

"You can't go out looking like that," Darcy said.

Loki raised an eyebrow. He looked at Thor, who had already changed into Midgardian clothing. "You mean this is not appropriate attire for walking the streets of London?" Loki asked with sarcastic amusement. The answer was obvious.

"Not without someone potentially recognising you and calling the cops," Darcy said. "Also, I mean, there are some weirdos out there, but they tend to only come out at night. Some do during the day, and no, it's not appropriate."

Loki looked at everyone, waiting for the next step. When no one said anything, he rolled his eyes. "So how do you propose we get the clothes we need if I am to remain hidden?"

Everyone in the room looked at each other, trying to think of a solution to their problem.

"Um," Ian broke through the tension raising his hand slowly. They all turned to look at him. "I worked a summer in a menswear department. I could…take some measurements and go get some things." Loki rolled his eyes. "Just a few things to outfit him, then he can go do his own shopping." Ian paused, obviously doing his best to word the next sentence carefully. "I would need you to…uh…take off the…leather though." He failed.

"Can't you just…guess?" Darcy asked, a devious smile on her face. "Look…" She took Loki by the arm and pulled him over to Thor and stood them side by side. Loki crushed the urge to slap her hand off his arm in annoyance and just let her, curious as to where this was leading. "See? Loki is almost the same height as Thor. But he's not as big and muscle-y." Loki bit his tongue to prevent his angry response at the blow to his ego.

"It's not that simple," Ian said with some confidence. That summer he must have picked up a lot and thought he was very good at his job. "Leg length, arm length, neck size. Slim fit, standard fit. Shoe size…"

"Okay, okay, Mr I-know-everything-about-men's-clothes," Darcy conceded. Loki thought he saw the glimmer of a newfound respect in the woman's eyes.

Ian turned to Loki. An unspoken question was asked. Loki shrugged and walked towards the bathroom. He heard Ian say something about calling him when he was ready, and in the interest of 'humility' he shut the door behind him.

He waved a hand and it stilled mid air. Loki had hoped his magic hadn't left him entirely, that the distance between Realms would have weakened the All-Father's power. But of course, he knew this was a foolish thought. Thor's power had only returned once he'd sacrificed himself. But had he not done the same for his brother and Jane? Odin had said he didn't  _intend_  to sacrifice himself, but he  _had_! What further lesson did he need to learn? He balled his hand into a fist and brought it down hard against the bathroom counter, testing his strength, but also to expel some frustration within him. The jarring blow only served to hurt his hand, no damage given to the marble surface.

Leaning on counter with both hands, he looked at himself in the mirror and was not surprised to find a tear rolling down his cheek. "Mother, give me strength," he muttered.

Wiping the tear away, he worked sluggishly to remove the various pieces of his leather ensemble. He was not as practiced at the manual removal of his  _own_  armour; some of the clasps were in awkward places, usually either having to use his magic or a servant in the palace to reach them. He suddenly was horrified to think perhaps this is what Odin had meant. His skills did rely heavily on magic. He sighed. Perhaps he should call Ian in to help. He rejected the idea immediately. It was bad enough he was going to have to rely on the boy to 'take his measurements' and go shopping for him, like a mother would a child.

When he finally managed to get the armour off, it was much easier to remove the black undershirt and trousers. Standing in all his naked glory, he scrutinised himself in the mirror, thinking about Darcy's comment about his build. As he and Thor had grown up, he'd favoured training his mind and magical abilities than physically train. He had always relied on his cunning rather than physical prowess and this resulted in lean muscle rather than bulk. He'd always been teased for it, but had taken solace in knowing he could, if he wished, best them without even being in the room. They wouldn't call it honourable, but it would get the job done, and had done so in many fights with their enemies. And he was still a skilled fighter. He _had_  managed to fell several Frost Giants on their trip to Jotenheim after all, not to mention some of the other countless number of adventures they'd been on where magic had not been an immediate option.

Now, though, without his magic or natural Aesir strength, he was feeling especially vulnerable. He looked around the room for something to cover himself with and found a towel hanging on the back of the door. He wrapped it tightly around his waist before calling for Ian. Ian squeezed his way into the room opening the door as little as he possibly could to keep the privacy. He closed the door and turned to face him, looking a little nervous.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Don't worry," he moaned. "I'm not going to make this any more uncomfortable than it already is." He wondered why he was even bothering to go through this, but resigned himself to just get it over with.

With a gulp, Ian nodded and proceeded to take the measurements he needed, gently prompting Loki to lift his arms when necessary. After a few tense-filled moments, Ian had finished. "Well, I've got enough information now," he said standing up quickly. "I'll go now to get something. Do you have a colour scheme preference?"

Loki shrugged. "Whatever you think is best," he said in a bored manner but pleased it was over.

Ian nodded and left quickly. Loki didn't bother to get fully dressed again, only pulled on his trousers, and exited the bathroom. He grinned with mischief when Jane and Darcy came out of the smaller room with some boxes of lab equipment and nearly dropped them. Jane blushed pink and Darcy just looked unabashed.

"Nice, dude," she said appreciatively. "Maybe not as big and muscle-y, but definitely nothing to sneeze at."

Loki decided to take it as a compliment, even if Thor was chuckling under his breath knowingly.

* * *

Ian had been gone for a couple of hours, during which time it had been decided that it would be best for Thor and Loki to see SHIELD, all subtlety aside. Loki had not given any input, having made his dissatisfaction clear earlier, although his anger had dissipated. Jane and Thor continued to remove stuff from the spare room in case it was needed. She had been delighted when she exclaimed there  _was_  a bed in the room under all her equipment.

When Ian returned, he hastily gave the items to the still naked-from-the-waist-up Loki and he was shown the bathroom again. Loki looked at each item, appraising them individually. Ian had managed to get a pair of black dress boots, a pair of black casual trousers, a two-pack of long sleeve shirts (one was light grey, the other was a mid-dark forest green), a black v-neck jumper, a couple of white t-shirts, socks, boxers and a long black coat. Loki didn't see anything wrong with anything and got dressed, choosing the green shirt, the top two buttons undone, but did not put on the jumper. He also decided to roll the sleeves of the shirt up to his elbows.

When he emerged from the bathroom, he was met with a wolf-whistle of approval from Darcy. "Looking good, dude! Very Jean Paul Gaultier!"

[ ](http://s1369.photobucket.com/user/Roguex1979/media/6dffc2cb-e2d5-4410-98c8-f88e615bd45c_zpsf3b98d50.jpg.html)

Loki found himself smiling at the second compliment from the woman, even though he didn't understand the reference. Everything fit him perfectly and Ian was beaming from his chair with pride for himself. "Yes, they are more than adequate," he said looking at Ian. The words 'thank you' died at his lips, not fully bringing himself to say them, but he nodded towards the young man.

"How are you both going to get to SHIELD?" Jane asked. "I mean, do they even have a base or something here in England?" She looked at Erik, who shrugged.

"Can't you just call the Avengers and, like, get the location of the nearest SHIELD agency or outpost or whatever?" Darcy asked wiggling her fingers towards the telephone.

"Yeah, because I've got Tony Stark and Bruce Banner on speed dial," Jane said sarcastically. "We're besties!"

"Actually, I have a contact there from when I worked for them," Erik suggested. "I'm sure if I mention Thor is back and how best to get a hold of Director Fury, at the very least if they're monitoring the emails, they'll be on us like that." He snapped his fingers for emphasis.

"Do it," Thor said.

* * *

And so after only a few hours after the email was sent, the knock came at the door. When opened, an agent introduced himself and said that he would accompany Thor to a private airfield where they would be taken to the nearest base, where Director Fury would be waiting. Upon seeing Loki, it took a few moments for recognition to kick in, but he had then pulled his gun yelling for everyone to get down.

"Dude, seriously!?" Darcy shouted when Thor had stepped in front of Loki to protect him and held a hand out for everyone to calm down.

"Do you really think we didn't notice him and he'd just appeared the second you happened to walk in here?" Jane argued, sternly. "No, he's been here a lot longer than you have!"

The agent lowered his gun warily and radioed to his partners to warn them of the situation. Other than that, the journey to the UK base was incident free. And the meeting with Director Fury took place relatively quickly. Apparently, the Helicarrier had been en route to Europe anyway, and took a diversion as soon as the email had been read.

Loki had been thoroughly searched before entering the base, and he was relieved of his coat. He had respectfully requested (through clenched teeth) that it not be damaged or lost as it was new. Then they were led to an office by several agents, including the Black Widow, Natasha Romanov, and Hawkeye, Clint Barton, who both kept very close eyes on Loki, hands held perpetually over their guns at all times. Here, Nick Fury had taken up temporary residence and was waiting for them. They entered and Fury motioned for the agents to leave. With trepidation, they looked at each other, but yielded.

Thor's entirely one sided conversation with Fury went better than Loki expected. The man with one eye had patiently listened to Thor babbling non-stop for fifteen minutes, hands folded at his chin, elbows propped on his desk, until Thor had trailed off, unsure what to say next.

"Okay."

Both Asgardians found Fury's lack of argument surprising. "Okay?" Thor repeated with doubt laced in his voice.

Fury stood up. He motioned with his hand and Agents Barton and Romanov entered the room. "What you are saying, amongst other things, is that Loki is just like any other human now. No magic powers, no super strength?"

Thor nodded. "As was I when I was first ban…sent here to learn my lesson."

Fury circled round Loki slowly. "Just a lowly human now," he mused to himself, but loud enough for Loki to hear. Loki frowned, but said nothing, knowing it would do him no good to get on this man's bad side. "I'd like to put that to the test," Fury said louder. "Your intellect is impressive of course, no-one doubts that, but how good would you be in a fight?"

"You want me to fight someone to prove that I lack the physical strength that I once possessed?" Loki asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Let's call it…therapy," Fury stated. "Agent Barton has a bone to pick with you, and I'm sure he would love nothing more than to see how much of a beating you can take."

Loki looked at Agent Barton, who was grinning sadistically. He remembered that he had apologised to Erik Selvig for what he had done, and he saw no reason to offer any less to the archer. "I agree," he said. It would be an interesting test for himself as well.

It didn't take very long for Loki to find himself in what appeared to be a training room with equipment of all sorts dotted around the room with a training mat central. Loki was told to stand on the mat and watched warily as Agent Barton joined him. The agent unclipped his weapons and muttered something about a 'fair fight'. Loki was acutely aware that other agents were filing into the hall to watch the fight. Either gossip had spread through the base, or Fury had ordered the audience.

Barton cracked his knuckles after he had shed his cumbersome quiver. "This is going to be fun," he smiled. "Nice shirt, by the way. Hope it doesn't stain."

Loki simply stood there expressionless as the man shifted from foot to foot. He was quietly confident that although he didn't have his superior strength, he should still have his quick reflexes and skill.

Fast as lightening, Barton made a move towards him. Loki almost didn't manage to dodge out of the way, and blocked a kick from the agent which came quickly after. A blow aimed for his face was successfully deflected with the crossing of his wrists and he pushed it away to land a blow himself in Barton's gut. Recovering quickly, Barton swept Loki off his feet and went in for a body slam. Loki managed to roll out of the way just in time, but Barton got up so quickly and threw a glancing blow across Loki's chin. It wasn't square enough, but Loki was still surprised by it.

The fight lasted for a good few minutes more, each one barely landing any hits, one occasionally gaining the upper hand, but losing it just as quickly. Loki was faintly aware that the crowd was shouting and cheering for Barton. In the back of his mind, Loki thought he and the Hawk were very evenly matched, but that he should probably swallow his own pride and let the man win. With that in mind, he 'missed' an opportunity and Barton lunged at him.

Loki made a show of trying to twist away, but was caught around his slim waist and dragged down onto the ground. There, Barton pinned him to the ground to wild cheers and straddled his hips. He grabbed the collar of Loki's shirt and punched him in the mouth. The force was jarring and Loki hit his head on the not-soft-enough mat. He saw the second punch coming, and let that one through as well, feeling his lip tear at the impact, but decided it was time to end the fight when Barton threw the third one. He caught Barton's fist in his hand and struggled to keep a hold of it, the two visibly shaking with the effort, Barton still trying to land the blow, Loki trying to prevent it. "I concede!" Loki hissed, struggling to breathe with Barton's weight on him.

"What was that?" Barton jeered.

"I said I concede!"

Barton narrowed his eyes and looked into Loki's, as if searching for something, then pulled his fist out of Loki's grip and slammed it against the ground next to his head. He lifted him slightly by the shirt collar and brought his face very close, a picture of anger. Loki thought he was about to head butt him. "I know you did that on purpose," he whispered so no one else could hear. "But don't think that means I immediately forgive you for what you made me do."

Loki nodded quickly and Barton let him go, getting up swiftly and grabbing his gear. Loki rolled onto his side and slowly hoisted himself up feeling slightly light headed. He noticed Fury watching him closely, Thor standing next to him looking sheepish, and the Black Widow with a smile she was trying failingly to hide. Holding back his anger at having to lower himself as even he felt was necessary, Loki tongued his bottom lip and tasted blood while the other agents congratulated Barton on his win.

Back in the office and with an ice pack held to his face, Loki listened from a chair in the corner as Fury and the others decided his fate.

"He's got a mean swing, I'll give him that," Barton said rolling his shoulder where Loki had managed to strike him. "But definitely not God-like strength. He might be good in the field, but I don't think anyone would trust him to have their back."

"I have no intentions of sending him into the field," Fury said at the desk. "In fact, I don't want him to leave this base any time soon." It was as Loki figured. He was to be a prisoner, if not in Asgard, here on Midgard. At this point, he still didn't care.

"There must be something that he can do," Thor prompted. "Something that will keep him out of trouble. He cannot just stay here. He will not learn anything."

"You said that your father sent him here with you to teach him a lesson," Fury said directing his question to Thor. "What sort of lesson would that be?"

"Loki has…issues," Thor said looking at his younger brother. Loki grinned sardonically and winced as the cut on his lip ached.

"Oh, no, don't say that! He's a ray of sunshine!" Barton quipped sarcastically.

"And they must weigh very heavily on him to have made him do what he did," Thor continued. "He felt his intentions were noble."

"So, what you're saying is he needs counselling." Fury wasn't really asking the question rather than stating an obvious fact. Fury looked at Barton, and an unseen understanding passed between them that worried Loki. Barton agreed with whatever he thought the Director had in mind.

"My lesson was that not everything can be solved with physical strength. I learned that by giving my life to protect the ones I hold dear and the Earth…"

"…From your maniac brother," Agent Romanov pointed out.

Thor continued, ignoring Black Widow's dig. "Perhaps it is as simple as learning that not everything requires deceit and lies. To trust others around him."

"Do I not get a say in any of this?" Loki asked.

"No," said everyone else in the room.

"I'm going to suggest that if Loki is to remain on Earth that he stay here, under our supervision," Nick said sitting at his desk. "But if we are going to go down the path of rehabilitation, that I know a damn good psychologist on SHIELD's payroll and recommend 2 sessions a week."

Loki looked confused. "And what, pray tell, does a psychologist do?"

Fury smiled, and it was unnerving. "They get into your mind and help you to reconsider how you think about things."

The irony was not lost on Loki and he could see Barton trying not to laugh.

TBC


	3. Loki, meet Daniel. Daniel, meet Loki.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki gets 'used' to his surroundings in the SHIELD compound and finally meets his psychologist. From nearly the outset, the man intrigues Loki, but Loki is still very resistant of the therapy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a picture of how I imagine Daniel in this fic. I don't know who the person is, I don't know if he's well known...so I apologise if I have stolen someone's picture! But it's the closest I could find.
> 
> And yes, Daniel looks quite young in my fic, although he is in his early 30's.

Loki had been shown to his new lodgings within the SHIELD compound. His room was minimalist and not to his liking. The walls were white, the carpet was grey, the bedding was white and grey and the only hint of colour was when he slung his green shirt over the back of the grey chair that sat in front of a white desk. The bathroom was just as white and grey and boring.

He was given level one clearance. That meant he could walk around the building and outside, but a lot of the doors he tried to get through were barred to him. In fact, the only rooms he had access to were the canteen, the outside courtyard, the training room and his own room. To his dismay, the compound did not have any sort of entertainment except for a television in a room just off the canteen, which mostly showed the news. When he asked if there was a library, the answer was that everything was 'online'. He had no idea what that meant, so he spent most of his time sitting in his room.

At some point the following day, someone knocked on his door and when he opened it, there was an agent holding a large box with his name on it. "This was sent to you from Thor," the agent said.

Loki took the box, went back into his room, not bothering to say thank you, and closed the door. He placed the box on the desk. It had already been opened; no doubt so that the agents could make sure there was nothing in it that could be considered a threat. He pulled the tabs aside and a smile tugged at his lips.

Loki pulled out several books and the extra clothing that Ian had purchased for him. He laughed mordantly at the grey shirt. "Well, at least I'll match my dwellings," he said ruefully to himself. Underneath those were his Asgardian clothes. He snorted and closed the box without taking them out. He wouldn't need  _them_  any time soon. He placed the box inside his built in wardrobe and put the rest of his clothes away. Since it was only a few items, it didn't take long.

The hours passed slowly for Loki as he waited to be told if there was anything he should be doing. He had been told that as soon as the psychologist was available, he'd be notified. He wandered aimlessly around the compound, hardly talking to anyone because they all avoided him like a plague. At one point he'd been walking down the hall and a young woman had stopped in front of him with a gasp, her eyes wide with terror and attempted to quickly step around him, only for him to try stepping out of  _her_  way in the same direction. They both sidestepped again, still in each other's way. The girl looked as if she were about to faint after the third attempt and he grabbed her by the shoulders, swinging them around, and stalked off on his way, missing the woman leaning on the wall with a sigh of relief.

He occasionally found himself in the training room where he and Barton had scrapped and watched the other agents exercise their bodies, ready for any potential physical threats. A few of them would stop their training and look at him nervously, as if they were expecting him to attack them, but he had no desire to do any such thing. When he got bored, he would take a book into the canteen and read alone for several hours until they told him the lights were going out. Then he would wander back to his room and sleep fitfully, haunted by his nightmares.

He would run into Agent Barton a few times, slowly realising this was not coincidence, that Barton was his SHIELD appointed babysitter, although largely, the agent kept a good distance. Loki hardly ever felt like he was being followed.

"Do you not feel this is a waste of your skills, looking after me?" Loki had asked one day after he'd attempted to enter a room for level five and above, purely out of boredom to see what would happen. Barton had come up behind him, but he had sensed the man was there. He didn't need magic for that.

"In a way," the Hawk had said, dismissing the other agents who had accumulated to stop Loki's entry, their guns at the ready. "But making sure that you really aren't up to something and getting to stop you by  _any means necessary_  if you are is something I would take great pride in doing." Loki had rolled his eyes and continued on his way.

Less than a week later, however, he was having some lunch, reading his book when a young man sat opposite him and plonked a large organiser on the table.

"Hi, Loki?" the man asked with a smile on his face. The man had a British accent like most of the agents around the base, floppy light brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He was slim built and Loki guessed not as tall as he was. He wore casual dress, similar to Loki's own and he mildly wondered if Ian had dressed him too.

"Loki, my name is Daniel Atwell. Doctor Daniel Atwell. I was called in at Director Fury's request?" Loki raised an eyebrow, barely looking up from the book. "I was told you knew I was coming?" the doctor said. "To…to have some sessions with you to discuss any issues you may be having?"

"My issue at the moment is that you are disturbing my lunch," Loki said in a low, uninterested voice. He licked a finger and turned the page before spooning a bit of cold pasta into his mouth and chewing slowly, deliberately.

"That's ok," Daniel said brightly. He opened his organiser and pulled out a tablet PC. "You carry on and I'll just do some work until you are finished." He dropped his eyes to the device and began doing something Loki knew not what. He didn't care either, although his attention was now divided between the mindless eating of the food, the now uninteresting piece of Midgardian literature and the somewhat new and interesting distraction in front of him.

[ ](http://s1369.photobucket.com/user/Roguex1979/media/clean-shave_zps3e87767e.jpg.html)

The doctor was fresh faced, very young looking, wearing some hideous glasses on his nose, dark rimmed and didn't suit him at all. His hair, whilst having the look of being brown was slightly golden without being blonde. His skin was pale, but not unhealthily. His eyes were blue, but looked…unnatural. Loki narrowed his eyes slightly at this, but moved on. The shirt the doctor was wearing was a dark cream and his trousers, Loki thought he'd glanced before he sat down, were a dark brown. Peeking under the table from the bottom of the book, the doctor's shoes were brown as well. Clearly this man favoured natural earth colours, much like Loki did, although he preferred greens. And while the doctor wore no other jewellery, there was one plain gold band on his right middle finger. From what Loki recalled about Midgardian cultures, this was not a wedding band, or if it was, it was not worn on the correct hand or finger. The ring had a small bright purple stone embedded into it.

Loki, finishing his appraisal of the young man and now bored, slammed his book shut making the other jump slightly. He pushed his plate away and went to stand up.

"Oh good, you're finished," Daniel said. Loki rolled his eyes, something he'd been doing a lot lately, and went to leave, but stopped short when he saw Barton at the door, watching them. Barton shook his head at Loki and Loki sighed loudly. He turned back around and slumped into his chair.

"Shall we try again?" the doctor asked with that same idiotic smile on his face. "I'm Doctor Daniel Atwell. You can call me Dan, or Daniel, or Doctor Atwell if you like, whatever you feel comfortable with." He held a hand out for Loki to shake in typical Midgard greeting. Loki glanced at Agent Barton and since the man was still standing there, he grabbed Daniel's hand in a quick acknowledgement of the custom.

"This won't be our normal meeting place," Daniel said picking the tablet up from its perched position. "They're setting up a consulting room for me. So from next session in a couple of days, we'll meet in there." He leaned forward. "Are you comfortable here for this first session, or would you rather we went somewhere else? Your room perhaps? Or the gardens at the back, although it is a bit chilly this time of year and it's raining." Loki said nothing and yet the doctor still insisted on that infuriating smile. "I must say it's an honour to meet you," Daniel said. "Out of all the Norse gods I read about when I was a child, your stories intrigued me the most."

That made Loki pay attention. "Were they now?"

Daniel nodded. "Oh yes. I would love to know how much of it is real and how much was fiction."

That got Loki going. In reading the Midgardian stories about him, he was surprised how much of it was pure unadulterated nonsense and he spent the next hour explaining this to the sandy-haired man. And while he was sitting paying all the attention to Loki, he could see the doctor tapping on his tablet-thing.

"And despite what is written, I did not barge my way into that feast and insult everyone. I had been invited and Fandral started everything off by insulting Freya saying that she is less than a lady in the bedroom. I tried to protect her honour by pointing out that Fandral had drunkenly mistaken a mule for a lover one night and from there the whole evening just erupted into chaos!"

"So, you're saying that incident was nothing to do with you?" Daniel asked. "You were not even in the slightest to blame?"

Loki smirked. "Well, perhaps Fandral had been fairly quiet on the matter and I was a bit louder than I should have…" Loki suddenly realised that the doctor was still tapping away at his tablet. "What  _are_  you doing?"

Daniel looked up from his work. "Making notes."

"To correct all your mistaken literature?" Loki asked.

"Don't worry about the notes, Loki. You just carry on talking."

Loki stood up. "I know what you are doing," he growled. "Fury said you get inside heads."

Daniel looked up at Loki and lifted his glasses off his nose and propped them on top of his head. "Well, it's not so much I get inside of your head as you tell me what you're feeling and we try to work out together what problems you're having and at the same time see how we can help you to work through those issues to get you to the point where you don't need to see me anymore."

"And how long will that take?"

"That depends on how much you tell me."

Loki glanced over to where Barton had been, but noticed he was gone. No longer under the impression he had to stay, Loki stalked towards the exit. He didn't bother to see if the doctor was following and walked as quickly as he could to his room.

* * *

A couple of days later, Loki was escorted to a different part of the building, where he was normally not allowed to go, and taken to nicely furnished office.

There was a desk in front of a large bookcase, a plush looking couch against a wall and a single chair in the middle of the room facing said couch. There were inspiring pictures on the walls, certificates with the doctor's name on them and books…lots and lots of books. Loki wandered over to the bookshelf for a closer inspection.

A few minutes later, Daniel entered the room. "Sorry, sorry, I know I'm a bit late," he said dumping his organiser on the desk. "My clearance for this base hadn't been fully approved." He seemed ruffled. "Thank you, Agent Barton." Barton nodded and left, closing the door behind him. Daniel went over to see what Loki was looking at, pushing his glasses up onto his head as Loki had noticed him do last time. Loki also noticed he had been correct in thinking the doctor was shorter than him, at least 3 inches. "Anything I can help you with?"

Loki ignored the doctor in favour of pulling a few books of interest off the shelf and going to sit on the couch with them. He opened one of the books and began 'reading', but also observed the other man covertly. Today, the doctor was wearing a dark purple shirt, dark grey trousers and black shoes, a stark contrast against his pale skin.

Daniel pulled out his damnable tablet and sat on the chair by the couch facing Loki. "So, how are we today?" Loki ignored him pointedly. "Done anything interesting since our last session?" Loki still was silent. He was pleased to see the smile that usually was plastered to Daniel's face wavered slightly. He also noticed the man still had his glasses on the top of his head.

Daniel cleared his throat. "Not talkative today, huh?" Loki continued to pretend to read. "That's ok," Daniel said looking down at the tablet. He tapped away. "Would it be okay if I told you why I think you're here?" Still nothing. "Well, according to what I could gather from our last talk, in no particular order; psychopathy, borderline personality disorder, narcissistic tendencies…"

Loki snapped the book shut. "Assumptions! How could you possibly have gleaned any of that information from our previous session? All I did was tell you which of your mythological stories are incorrect and which are correct. I told you nothing about myself."

Daniel smiled slyly. "I'm just that good," he said conspiratorially. "But, if you would indulge me?" Loki waved a hand dismissively but didn't say anything further. "Psychopathy: defined as a personality disorder characterised by enduring antisocial behaviour, diminished empathy and remorse and uninhibited behaviour. Case in point; you display many of the recognised character traits of being a psychopath. Mainly, manipulation and cunning, failure to accept responsibility for one's own actions, pathological lying, denial, lack of remorse, callousness, poor…"

Loki stood up suddenly stepping towards the doctor. If the doctor truly thought him a psychopath, he was treading dangerous waters by pointing out the fact, but Loki held back his anger. "You speak as if those are bad. Manipulation and cunning are required to remain ahead of one's enemies. I may hide my plans from others, telling them only what they need to hear, but I would hardly call that lying. I am perfectly capable of speaking truthfully. I am capable of feeling remorse, but I would need to care about something enough in the first place, therefore I cannot be callous about everything. And failure to accept responsibility for my own actions?" He was right in front of Daniel now, pleased to see he was nervous. "I can accept the things that I do. It is the doings of others that I. Cannot. Abide by!" He accepted that he was labelled as the Trickster God, Liesmith, Silvertongue because of his mischievous nature, but he truly believed everything he did was not as bad as some would believe. And his anger towards his so-called family was motivated by the untruth he had discovered, that his  _father_  had been keeping from him all his life; that he would never have been King of Asgard, but of a frozen wasteland he despised.

He was leaning on the arms of the chair Daniel was sitting in, his face very close to the other, who was leaning back as far as he could. Loki looked into Daniel's wide eyes. He saw something in them that he put away for later and he smirked.

"…b…behavioural controls," Daniel stuttered, as continuation to his earlier list. Loki's grin disappeared.

A knock on the door broke the tension. "Doctor? Are you ok?" Agent Barton enquired. "Do you need assistance?"

"Do I?" Daniel asked Loki quietly. Loki grimaced and stood up straight, going back to the couch. "No, everything's fine, Agent," he said louder. "You shouldn't be listening so carefully at the door, these are private sessions." He grinned at Loki, who was annoyed that the earlier worry had disappeared from the doctor's visage. But he had to admit to himself, he was very intrigued by the man in front of him.

* * *

"This…doctor," Loki started to Agent Barton the next day in the training room. "He is nothing short of infuriating."

"Why? Just because he got you to open up a bit?" Barton asked, his bow and arrow poised for a shot. The arrow was unleashed and of course, hit the dummy straight in the eye.

"He didn't get me to  _open up_ ," Loki grumbled, arms folded. "He made wild assumptions based on my correction of your stupid Midgardian scholars' wild accusations. I birthed an eight-legged horse as a mare? Please! That was a rumour started by Thor! The great oaf."

"I'll bet he's absolutely hit the nail on the head though. The Doc's good," Barton said loosing another arrow on the dummy. The second arrow split the first right down the middle. "He helped me get through my issues. You know, after you took control of my mind and got me to attack and kill my own people?" Four more arrows whizzed through the air in quick succession. Loki had the distinct feeling that Barton saw the dummy in his likeness. "And I'm fine now."

"Clearly," Loki scoffed.

Barton lowered his bow and looked like he was debating with himself. "He helped me to see that there was nothing I could do while I was under your thrall, and that I shouldn't blame myself too much, but that my guilt was justified, and that I needed to forgive myself." Barton slung his bow over his shoulder and looked Loki in the eyes. "He's the reason I can stand here now and not beat the shit out of you. I  _have_ forgiven myself."

Loki's lip tingled where Barton had punched him when he first arrived. He knew Barton had been holding back when they'd fought before; Barton was testing him and would have increased his skill as necessary. And Loki had known Barton's mind when under his thrall. It had linked him to his head and his heart, so Loki knew Barton's past, and his secrets; secrets not even his closest friends knew about. He therefore knew that what he just told with him was massively uncharacteristic of him. "Why would you share that with me?" Loki asked, suspicious.

Barton smiled sadly. "Let's just say; the thing that linked us together while I was under your control…it worked both ways." Loki was shocked. He hadn't realised this. Barton must have read his surprise. "Calm down, Sunshine. Don't think that means I know all your secrets. If I had known anything useful, I would have given the info to SHIELD already. I only got a few titbits. Your mind was a mess; I couldn't make head nor tail of a lot of the things I saw, but something that I did get from you was that you don't usually want help from anyone; you loathed needing our help to get what you required and it wasn't just because we're lowly mortals." Barton paused. "And I was the same. It took an order from SHIELD to make me get the help." Barton put a hand on Loki's shoulder. "But you have to let this doctor help you now, otherwise you're never going to get better. And probably never be able to move on, or go home."

Loki opened his mouth, unable to believe what Barton had just said. But it was true. Loki had fended for himself quite a bit in his life, and would never have admitted he needed help. But, on this occasion, he knew that not getting the help was the difference between leaving Midgard to become a king and spending the rest of his mortal life here, all for the sake of his pride.

It would take time though. He wasn't sure he could just open up to the doctor. But, he could make a start with Clint Barton. "I am truly sorry for what I did," Loki said sincerely. "Even if you don't believe it. And I fully understand that you will never forgive me. At least know that."

And Barton smiled back at him, without malice or contempt. "Then that's a step in the right direction for you, Sunshine."

Loki suddenly had a thought. "So, you saw this doctor for a while…tell me something; did he always wear those glasses of his on top of his head?"

* * *

"Perhaps a direct question would yield a better answer," Daniel said rubbing his eyes after yet another session where Loki had deflected all queries and explanations. "Do you feel that the subject of your parentage is a painful one?"

"Yes," Loki answered, deciding to throw the man a bone, remembering what Agent Barton had told him a few days ago. He'd been deliberately dodging the questions for nearly the whole session now, mainly out of boredom, and he'd been finding it immensely satisfying.

Daniel looked surprised, not at the response, but that he had gotten a response that simple. "So you admit that talking about it makes you feel…?"

"Violated." Loki threw the doctor his trademark smirk. He knew it was not the answer the doctor was looking for.

"So, you liken my asking questions about your past to a violation of your mind? And yet you took over the minds of at least three people. Do you not feel that that was a violation for them?"

Loki's smile vanished. This man had an answer for everything!

* * *

They were on their 5th session and Loki thought he was definitely getting to the doctor, wearing his patience thin. Loki was also feeling frustrated. He just couldn't get to the point where he felt he could tell the doctor anything, despite Barton's pep talk. In fact, the archer had all but yelled at Loki this morning to ' _pull his finger out'_  and ' _stop acting like a pissy emo teen'_. But Loki had simply huffed at him and told him to mind his own business, to which Barton had emphatically replied it  _was_  his business because the sooner Loki got the hell off of Earth, the sooner he could return to regular duties.

"Loki, we're here to try and help you, but you have to properly open up to me," Daniel said softly from his chair. "Our last session was almost completely silent." His glasses, Loki saw, were still perched on top of his head.

Loki leaned forwards. "Tell me something, doctor," he started with mischief on his mind. "How do you expect me to tell you my secrets, when you won't reveal any of your own?"

"Everyone has secrets, Loki," Daniel said. "But most secrets don't weigh so heavily on a person that it drives them to act the way you have." Loki leaned back, and folded his arms, looking away, ready for another session of silence.

Daniel sighed. It wasn't the first time Loki heard it, but this one peaked his interest as he sensed it might go somewhere. "I'll tell you what. I'll tell you one of my secrets, and then you can share something about your past. Deal?" Loki shrug was non-committal. "Ok, here goes…" There was a deafening pause. Loki was metaphorically on the edge of his seat, the anticipation gnawing at him. But on the outside, he merely turned to look at the young man.

Daniel leaned forwards. "I'm gay," he whispered.

Loki's head dropped with frustration. It was not what he was expecting. Then he felt slightly confused. "What does that mean?" he asked, genuinely not knowing what the doctor meant and guessing it meant something other than 'happy'.

Daniel laughed with surprise. "You don't know what it means?" Loki shook his head. "It means…I like men." Loki stared, confusion still behind his eyes. "It means I prefer the company of men to that of women." Loki was still drawing a blank. Daniel sighed. "In sexual terms."

Loki got that. He was decidedly still disappointed. "Why is that such a secret?"

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's not always well received information. Most religious sects deem the act of sleeping with another man is an abomination for many reasons, mostly because it's not possible to breed. It's unnatural and people are shunned from society as a result. To reveal oneself is to put oneself in the line of fire for abuse." Daniel paused. "What do  _you_  think?"

Loki leaned back, placing an arm along the top of the couch. "I think  _that_  is not a secret. It is of no consequence who one lays with. On Asgard, it is not 'unnatural', although yes, it does not serve the purpose for procreation. It's more for fun. I myself have lain with a few men in my time, both mortal and Aesir."

If that surprised the doctor, it didn't show. "So, to you, the fact that men lay with other men for fun means that my burdensome secret is not actually that burdensome?"

"Exactly," Loki said with a devious smile. He had the doctor on the ropes.

"Then why would you think that any of your own secrets would be any less received by me?"

Loki nearly hurled a book at the doctor's head.

* * *

Loki was pacing up and down the small consulting room in their next session. He had decided that since it appeared that the doctor knew how to side step his every attempt at subterfuge and get closer to leaving Loki without any defences, it was time to come clean on one issue.

"I found out that I am not actually of Asgard, but another Realm called Jotunheim, the land of the Frost Giants."

"And how did that make you feel?"

"Angry. So very angry. I had always felt that I didn't belong, but had no idea as to why."

"Did your adoptive parents and brother not make you feel loved?"

Loki laughed contemptuously, but then stopped, really thinking about it. Until he had found out who he really was, he hadn't really felt unloved. The All-Father had been very busy, but hadn't intentionally showed any favour to Thor, not that he had seen anyway. And as for Frigga…oh how he missed her now.

He slumped on the couch and put his hands to his face to cover any potential emotion from actually showing, not realising the action itself was an indicator. His mother had shown great interest in him. When she could see him struggle to keep up physically with the other children in their training, she had taught him the ways of Magic, something that no other man on Asgard had the privilege of knowing. He had been teased mercilessly for it, but still considered it a great gift. And to get back at his brother and other friends for the jest, he pulled pranks, which were not always severe; some were even shared as a great joke.

He brought his hands away from his face and stared at his palms. A slow shift of one of his hands confirmed Frigga's gift was still not with him. He placed his palms together and pressed two fingers to his lips in contemplation. He glanced at Daniel, who was looking at him expectantly. "They did, in their own ways."

Daniel smiled. "There," he whispered triumphantly. "We have a breakthrough."


	4. Loki is Persistent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki suspects that Daniel is not all that he appears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note: Claris and the Yurians are my invention. As far as I am aware, they don't currently exist in fiction (or reality for that matter), so all their attributes, culture and habits are mine. I am, however, aware that in fiction, there ARE other races that have purple eyes, but for the sake of my story, there aren't.
> 
> Also, Alexandria Genesis is a real documented condition, although it is disputed to be real, so that part is NOT my invention.
> 
> Remember that thoughts and flashbacks are in italics and in bold is The Other talking to Loki.
> 
> Also, writing is hard, but is also a pleasure, and is for your entertainment. If you like what you read, please please please let me know! What was your favourite part? Did something make you laugh? Did I get something wrong that I need to look into? Constructive criticism and positive feedback are a writers bread and butter! :)

_Loki watched Thor land on Stark's Tower below him. "Loki! You turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it!"_

_"You can't!" Loki sneered. "There is no stopping it," he said triumphantly, the Other's words still echoing in his ears. "There is only the war!"_

_"So be it," Thor mumbled sadly._

_Loki attacked with swift moves, parrying blows from Mjolnir but taking a fair few hits from Thor's fists. The Quinjet was a meagre distraction, and he blasted it with the sceptre, but this opened him up to further relentless attacks from his brother. One such hit caused a wound above his left eye and knocked the control of the Chitauri sceptre from his mind._

_"Look at this!" Thor shouted in a break in the fight seeming to sense a change in him. "Look around you! You think this madness will end with your rule?"_

_Loki looked at the destruction and army flying around. "It's too late! It's too late to stop it."_

_"No," Thor said. "We can…together."_

_"_ **Such foolish sentiment** _," the Other whispered to him, Loki feeling the control returning. He pulled a blade from hiding, stabbing Thor in the ribs._

_"Sentiment," he echoed with a smile._

* * *

"I keep having these nightmares," Loki said in another session after yet another sleepless night, "about the attack on Midgard."

"Guilt can manifest itself in many ways," the doctor said mirroring Loki's soft voice. "Some people have nightmares. Others get physically ill…"

"These don't feel like nightmares though, they are…memories." Loki looked at the doctor. It was time to speak up about something he hadn't admitted to anyone and was evident that even Barton hadn't gotten from their link. "I…I was not acting alone, of course, during the attack. But I felt like my actions were only partially my own. While I had Agent Barton and several others under the control of the Chitauri sceptre, I too was being influenced." He briefly told the doctor about his fall from the bridge, floating in the void, being found by the Other, how weak he'd felt and how enticing an offer had been given to him.

"Have you told this to anyone else?"

"I did not." Loki stood up and began pacing slowly, a habit he seemed to have acquired since his powers were taken. "As you said when we first met; I appear to blame others for my actions. If I had said any such thing about…well…I didn't think anyone would have believed..."

_"Who showed you this power? Who controls the would-be king?"_

_"Your actions, your mistakes, were not well thought out, and perhaps in some ways, not even your own."_

Loki shook his head at the words of his brother and father. Perhaps they would have…

"Your nature catches up to you," the doctor said. "Have you heard about the boy who cried wolf?"

Loki nodded remembering reading the story as a child, a special book his mother had given to him as a present when she had visited Midgard. "I understand your analogy." He guessed the doctor was saying his life of lying meant people would not believe him when he  _did_  tell the truth.

The doctor nodded. "And feeling guilty is natural. You did do some awful things. People died. But, your nightmares will fade when you have forgiven yourself."

Loki recalled Agent Barton telling him this is what the doctor told him during his therapy. He also remembered the flight of arrows into the training dummy as he spoke, thinking that Barton still had a way to go. But if that man could do it, then maybe so could he.

* * *

It was their 8th session and Loki had opened up about almost everything else that he felt about his situation, including why he was even there in the first place, if only to get everything, well, mostly everything, out in the open and let the doctor sort it all out. He  _needed_  to make progress!

But he had started to go stir crazy. Although, Thor had been to visit on several occasions to see how he was and, after much negotiation with Fury about letting him off-base, had taken him back to see Jane and the others, and out and about in London. The local library had been a huge disappointment to Loki, obviously comparing it to the one in Asgard, but it suited his needs, taking out as many books as Jane and Darcy's combined library cards would allow to keep him occupied. They had even bought him some things to go in his room after he'd complained how white and grey it all was. He had new trousers and shirts, although he had declined to wear jeans. He preferred to look smart casual. He'd even had a haircut. It was still long at the back, but 'tamer' as Jane had pointed out, and reminded Loki of how he'd usually worn it before he had fallen from the Rainbow Bridge.

But now, he decided to act on something he'd been observing in Doctor Atwell. It was time to satisfy his curiosity, and he was absolutely sure he was going to rile this young, apparently unflappable, doctor.

"Do you fear me, doctor?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Hmmm."

Daniel looked up from his tablet to raise a quizzical eyebrow at Loki, who was grinning like a madman. "Why do you ask that?"

"I get the feeling that even though I am technically mortal now and don't possess my magic or strength that you know I could dominate you in an instant." Loki chuckled. "And that frightens you. Or perhaps even arouses you."

Daniel laughed, scratching his cheek briefly. "I think you're seeing things in me that simply don't exist."

Loki pursed his lips together and then laughed mirthfully. "Perhaps, perhaps. Speaking of things that don't exist…" He looked at the door, wondering if Agent Barton was listening in closely. He'd been assured by both the doctor and Nick Fury that their conversations were confidential and that the doctor only had to report his findings on Loki's mental health, not the nature of the issues themselves. He decided to go for it. "…you're not from around here, are you?"

Daniel made no indication that Loki's question was in any way surprising. "Well, I wasn't born in London, if that's what you mean. I'm actually from a more Southern region of England known as Surrey…"

"No, no, no," Loki said shaking his head. "Where are you really from?"

Now the doctor frowned. "I'm…not sure what you…"

Loki stood up and sauntered over to the chair and leaned in, as he had done all those sessions ago to get a good look into the doctor's eyes, his hands leaning on the arms of the chair, effectively trapping the doctor on his seat. "You have glasses, which you seem to assume fools me into thinking you have need of them, but you hardly ever use them. Most of the time you simply leave them on the top of your head, except when you enter or leave this room. In addition, they don't have any magnification. The lenses are simply glass, which makes me think they are merely subterfuge…a layer to stop people getting a good look at your eyes."

He leaned in closer. The doctor was  _now_  visibly shaken and tried to slide the glasses onto his nose, but Loki grabbed them and slung them across the room. He then grabbed the doctor's face by the chin to keep him in place when Daniel had turned to look away. "I can also see that you are wearing contact lenses. Now, I am no expert although I have learned a few things about Midgard since arriving that used to be complete drivel to me. But your situation had me intrigued, so I was taken to a library during one of my outings with Thor and took out several books on various subjects to do with the eyes. Once I figured out that your glasses must be for show only, I wondered why you wore lenses. I thought maybe you really do need glasses but chose instead to wear lenses, but then when adding the extra layer  _of_ the glasses, I realised that it is just yet another deception…"

"Please stop," Daniel begged shutting his eyes.

"…to keep unsuspecting people from knowing of the condition you have…"

"Stop," the doctor said with more urgency.

"…that you are from another world. A world that became extinct over six hundred years ago in the blink of an eye! Whose main difference in the people compared to that of any other species in the universe is the colour of their eyes!"

"I said stop!" Daniel shouted pushing Loki out of the way standing up sharply.

Agent Barton burst through the door with his gun raised, immediately pointing it at Loki when he saw the ruffled doctor and Loki standing so close to him. "Step away, Sunshine!" Barton warned.

"No, no, it's okay," Daniel said wiping his forehead with the palm of his hand. Loki had put his hands up defensively and taken a step away anyway. "It's just a misunderstanding."

Barton didn't look convinced, but put his gun away. When he looked at Loki, the ex-god shrugged with a wry grin on his face. "Do you want to end the session early?" he asked the doctor.

Loki glanced at the doctor, and he could see him seriously considering it. But with a withering sigh, the doctor declined. Barton gave Loki a look that said ' _I'm watching you, Sunshine',_ as well as pointing two fingers at his eyes and then at Loki before leaving. Once the door closed, Daniel went over and retrieved his glasses. He was about to put them on his face, then thought better of it. He tossed them onto his desk.

"I'm not from another world," came the eventual reply. "I have a rare genetic mutation called Alexandria Genesis, which means I have strangely coloured eyes." He dug into his organiser and pulled out a contact lenses container. He opened the two small wells and then put his hand to his face. Loki couldn't see exactly what he was doing, but when the doctor turned around, Loki could clearly see bright purple irises.

Loki stood up and stepped slowly towards the young man. "May I?" he asked when he saw the look of worry. The doctor nodded and Loki came in for a closer inspection. The sight was quite captivating. Daniel's irises had dark plum rings on the outside, and the inside swirled with iridescent violet. Loki's breath was momentarily taken from him. He could almost see into stars from another world and threatened to get lost. Loki didn't even realise he'd brought a hand up to the doctor's face, brushing his cheek lightly until Daniel put his hands against Loki's chest and pushed him away slightly, turning his head. The spell was broken, but the image was not lost to Loki. He smiled down at the sandy haired man, and then turned away. "It's a human mutation, but not one that originated on Midgard," Loki said, confident his knowledge was not flawed.

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked whilst turned away, putting his lenses back in.

"Are you sure your parents are human?"

"Of course," Daniel said confidently.

"Have you investigated your strange heritage?"

Daniel opened his mouth and then shut it again, pondering his next line. "Not…entirely."

"Is that because you encountered a surprising lack of information on the subject?" Loki asked, his voice light and with false concern.

"There's only been one other case as far as I can find. In the 14th century, a woman named Alexandria in London was said to have eyes like mine. I can trace my roots back to her."

"The 14th century…" Loki mused out loud. "That was about 600 years ago, was it not?"

Daniel sat at his chair  _behind_ his desk. Loki took this as strange behaviour, as if the doctor was trying to get as far away from him as possible. "Closer to seven. 685 years, to be exact. It was 1329 when it was documented."

"She wasn't human."

It was Daniel's turn to laugh. "That's ridiculous. And how would you know?"

"Because I am over a thousand years old. I have knowledge about this universe the likes of which your scholars and scientists could ever dream of. I have seen worlds burned and species lost through war, including your own."

"I am human," Daniel said with quiet ire.

"Yes, for the most part. But tell me something, doctor; when was the last time you got sick?"

Daniel looked up to the ceiling, thinking. He thought for a good few moments, his face scrunching with almost imperceptible confusion when he found the answer and looked at Loki with surprise. "I…I've never been…" He stopped short.

Loki smiled. "So you see, even you must realise that this is a rare thing for a human to  _never_  get sick. Your planet is rife with disease." Loki stood up and wandered over to the desk and absently ran a finger over the smooth surface absently checking for dust. "I will tell you about yourself, doctor. Things that might make sense to you once you are in the know."

Daniel shook his head. "Enough about me, Loki. I am not a hybrid of some long forgotten race from another planet or dimension or whatever you want to call it. I am a human who happens to have purple eyes. And as inconvenient and traumatising as it was years ago when it manifested, I have made do, learned to deal with it and moved on. And that is what you should be moving towards. Acceptance of the things  _you_  cannot change."

"Doctor," Loki started with a frown, but the man held a hand up to silence him.

"I am here to help  _you_ , not the other way around, Loki. Now sit down so we can continue with our session!"

Loki bit the inside of his cheek to stop from saying anything further. He turned on his heel and walked slowly over to the couch. Loki turned to look over his shoulder at the doctor, who had put his head in his hands, clearly shaken by the conversation they'd just had. "I'm sorry," he said.

Daniel put his palms flat to the desk, but still exasperated. "It's ok," he breathed. "Just… sit down."

* * *

Thor looked at Loki with wide eyes. "Could it be true, brother? Could the Yurians still live in the doctor you see?"

Loki nodded. "I have little doubt. When you took me to the library earlier, I looked in every book I could find on the subject of what he described as a 'genetic mutation'. He was correct that there has only been one case, and the timing is perfect. The Chitauri wiped out the Yurians in a single day almost to the year that the first case of the Alexandria Genesis was documented. If somehow the Yurians found a way to this world…"

"Claris was decimated and the Yurians did not have the means to travel to Midgard without going through Asgard. How would it be possible that a single Yurian could have found her way there without Heimdall knowing of her passage through our borders?"

"I don't know," Loki admitted frustrated. "One must assume that she found a way to shield herself from his watchful eyes, although one would have to wonder why she wouldn't have sought help from Asgard." He growled. "Damn their pride!" Loki began to pace up and down biting absently on his thumb nail. He had some sudden inspiration. "I need that book from the palace library. Could you get it for me?"

Thor looked apprehensive. "You know Father has forbidden that you have access to anything from Asgard."

"But if you explained the situation," Loki explained walking up to him and placing his hands upon his brother's shoulders. "This is the last of a race that was thought to have died out. A great loss to the likes of Asgard and Alfheim, ripping asunder a centre of cultural magnificence. That..."

"Their world had no hope against any attack," Thor interrupted bluntly and shrugged away from Loki. "You know this! They were blinded by their higher purpose, to acquire knowledge and not making time to protect themselves," Thor all but berated the long-dead race. "You yourself agreed with me when Mother convinced Father to visit them to encourage them to prepare themselves for potential war. They felt above the need for war, and therefore did not see themselves a target."

"Be that as it may," Loki continued through clenched jaws, "I feel that we should be looking at the possibility that this doctor could be of great importance to Asgard in the future. The Yurians may not have had war-like tendencies, but they were far ahead in terms of greater understanding and knowledge that would benefit a great many worlds. This is why they were attacked by the Chitauri!  _He_  wanted that knowledge, but it was lost with their overly heavy handed attack." On the advice of the doctor, Loki had confirmed to his brother that he had been, in fact, under the control of someone the Other had only referred to as  _He_  or  _Him_. Thor had been gracious, and Loki felt for once that he was on the road to recovery after that. "The doctor may have some ancient knowledge buried in his mind…"

"Knowledge is not instinct," Thor said. "It has to be learned. Mother's magic skills were not passed to me by her birthing me.  _You_ learned them by studying."

"What if there are others, hm?" Loki asked. "Scattered around the realms…?"

"Enough, Loki," Thor said gently coming over and looking into Loki's eyes. "Why is this so important to you? I have not seen you this insistent about something since…" Thor's eyes widened, a smile coming to his face.

"No! No," Loki said warningly, knowing his brother had completely the wrong idea, shaking his head.

Thor laughed. "You like him!"

"No, I don't!" Loki denied putting a hand to his face with exasperation.

Thor clapped a hand against Loki's shoulder, then apologised when Loki grunted from pain. "You said that about Sigyn as well, brother. But it was obvious how you felt about her whenever she walked into a room."

Loki sighed with frustration. "Are you truly so dense, brother, that you cannot see the implications of such a discovery? You may put it down to an infatuation that doesn't exist because that is all your tiny warrior brain can comprehend. If I am to be king, if I ever please the All-Father, knowing the Yurians may yet live will provide a boon in knowledge if we can find them and bring them together. Finding out everything about this man will help, but first I must refresh myself on Yurian history and culture."

Thor simply smirked. "Of course, brother. Whatever you say." He put a heavy hand on Loki's shoulder.

"Such a child!" Loki hissed. He pulled away from Thor. "Just get me that book, brother. If nothing else, it will be interesting to see how he handles the information."  _If he can read it,_  Loki thought.

* * *

Thor came through fairly quickly, bringing him the book within a day. Loki didn't have a session with Daniel until the following day, but he didn't want to wait to give the doctor the book.

The book was from Claris, and was therefore written in Yurian text. Any Aesir could read and understand any language, but he knew other species couldn't. However, he had a feeling that if Daniel was partially Yurian, he might be able to read the writing, despite what Thor conjectured about knowledge not being inherent.

He strode with purpose down the hall towards the consulting room, book tucked under his arm. When he reached the closed door, he opened it without knocking.

Daniel looked up with surprise. "Loki?"

Loki stopped at the door, realising that he recognised the doctor was in a session with someone else, and even though he knew this doctor had seen Agent Barton before, he still felt a pang of jealousy; that he thought the doctor on this occasion was only here for him. "You…do this for other people?" he asked giving the SHIELD agent who was sitting on the couch a look of disdain. The agent, Loki recognised her from their little dance in the hallway near the beginning of his stay here, had been crying, and was now trying to hide the fact behind several balled up tissues.

Daniel stood up with a frown. "Yes, it is my profession. I work for SHIELD helping the agents with any issues they may have, and you can't be here right now." Daniel tried to turn him so that he walked out the door, but Loki refused to budge. "Loki, please. It's important for you to understand that just like I wouldn't expect anyone to walk in on our sessions, and I don't expect you to do so either. Now leave!"

"I have something for you," Loki said, ignoring him. "I think you'll find it very enlightening."

"Loki…"

"It's a book from the Asgard Royal Library," Loki said with a frown, not letting the doctor just dismiss him. "I asked Thor to take a great risk in bringing it here. The least you could do is take it."

"Not now," Daniel hissed. "Leave it for our next session, which is tomorrow."

"Now, Doctor, I don't think you're being reasonable…"

"No, Loki!  _You're_  not being reasonable!" the doctor snapped. Loki was taken aback by the unusual behaviour. "Just because something is important to you, doesn't mean you have the right to interrupt me whilst I am working. I can appreciate that you perhaps didn't understand that I help people other than yourself, but with your progress, I would have thought you would at least have the decency to listen to me, realise that I am not just here for you, and leave when asked!"

"I must confess," Loki started angrily, "I thought you were of a different calibre. That you might value the information I have to give you in the pursuit of knowledge of your heritage."

"My herit…?" Daniel asked, then he realised what Loki was getting at. "Loki, I have told you, I am not going to talk about this. And you of all people should understand that I have no desire to find out about what you think is my heritage, especially when you won't even acknowledge your own!"

Loki was livid. "You speak of understanding,  _Doctor_ ," he spat, "but you appear to understand very little!" He shoved the book against the doctor's chest forcefully, taking a modicum of satisfaction when it moved the doctor back a few steps and he grunted from the impact. He then spun on his heel and stormed off back to his room.

TBC


End file.
